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This collection contains
original material from the events surrounding the murder trial of Joseph White,
including the indictment, names of the jurors, testimonies, the autopsy, newspaper
accounts and letters to and from the principals.

Collection Number:

MSS 367

Series List

SERIES I. Primary Source MaterialSERIES II. Secondary Source Material

Scope and Content Note

This collection contains original material from the events surrounding the murder
trial of Joseph White, including the indictment, names of the jurors, testimonies,
the autopsy, newspaper accounts and letters to and from the principals. Also
included are the records of the Vigilance Committee, which was formed shortly after
the murder to "ferret out the perpetrator" and administer watch patrols. Of interest
is an account of the murder by William R. L. Ward, an employee of Joseph White.

Biographical Sketch

Joseph White was born in August 1748 to Capt. John White
and Margaret Muchmore White. He began his career as a sailor and rose to be a master
of several vessels. In 1770 he married Elizabeth Stone in Salem, Massachusetts. She
died in 1822 leaving no children. On the night of April 6, 1830, Joseph White was
brutally murdered in his bed. Two men, Francis and Joseph Knapp, were convicted of
his murder. A third man, Richard Crowninshield, was arrested, but committed suicide
in his jail cell before he could be brought to trial. Daniel Webster prosecuted the
case for the Commonwealth.

Index Terms

This collection is indexed under the following headings in Philcat. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons,
or places should search the catalog using these headings.

Crowninshield, Richard, 1804-1830

Knapp, John Francis, d. 1830

Knapp, Jr., Joseph Jenkins, d. 1830

Rantoul, Robert S. (Robert Samuel), 1832-1922

Ward, William Raymond Lee, 1811-1897

Webster, Daniel, 1782-1852

White, Joseph, 1748-1830

Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court

Vigilance Committee

Murder--Massachusetts--Salem

Restrictions

Restrictions on Access

This collection is open for research use.

Administrative Information

Copyright

Requests for permission to publish material from the collection must be submitted in
writing to the Manuscript Librarian in the Phillips Library at the Peabody Essex
Museum.

This collection contains original material from the events surrounding the murder trial of Joseph White, including the indictment, names of the jurors, testimonies, the autopsy, newspaper accounts and letters to and from the principals.